


Down in the Sewers

by Manuscriptor



Series: What Lives in the Sewers [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, Mild Gore, not as much as before
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manuscriptor/pseuds/Manuscriptor
Summary: more about the androids in the sewers
Relationships: Connor & Markus (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: What Lives in the Sewers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561228
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Down in the Sewers

**Author's Note:**

> I got half-way done with this before I realized that I didn't want to kill Connor or Markus, hence the fic before this. 
> 
> they are both stand alones, just building off the same concept -- androids that aren't quite androids that live in the sewers

“I really think this is a bad idea,” Markus said. 

Connor swept the flashlight across the one-of-many entrance to the sewer system of Detroit. Grimy water ran down the bottom of the pipe, but it was large enough to walk through without having to bend over. How far it continued like that, they weren’t quite sure. Markus had tried to get the blueprints, but bureaucracy moved too slowly for Connor’s tastes.

“You said the reports were coming in more frequently,” Connor said. “We don’t have time for a better idea.” 

Markus took a deep breath and then nodded. He clicked on his own flashlight. “Very well,” he said. “But we should stick together.” 

Connor took his hand without question, and together, they walked side by side into the dark. 

The reports that Markus was talking about were all different and yet somehow similar. They all took place in the sewers and were all talking about some sort of . . . . creature. The reports claimed there was an android. They also claimed it wasn’t an android. The reports . . . . really couldn’t be trusted. 

That’s why Markus was here. 

If there was an android involved, then he was involved. At least, that’s what he said. Connor wasn’t entirely convinced it even was an android. But how could he say no to Markus. After the revolution had been a success and deviation had been less stigmatized, he and the other android had gotten . . . _involved_. 

It was a human-thing that Connor wasn’t quite used to, and he still wasn’t used to all the feelings that had come as a result. 

They took turns at random through the sewer system, and Connor marked each one carefully in his mind so they would be able to find their way back out. Their flashlights swept left and right, and Connor kept his sensors finely tuned for any sign of anything, really. 

“You’re sure this is the place?” Connor asked. “I don’t see anything.” 

“The reports came from all over the place,” Markus said. “We just need to keep our eyes peeled.” 

They walked in silence. The water level rose a bit, getting slimier along with the walls. Connor didn’t care to think about why or how, and Markus didn’t comment. 

Connor heard the clicking first. Like gears in a clockwork machine that needed to be oiled. It was the only warning they got, and Connor swept his flashlight towards the noise. 

The beam of light barely caught the glimmer of exposed gray skin and the red LED light before whatever was there was gone. 

Connor shifted his grip to Markus’s arm, pulling them back until they were safely pressed against a wall. With only one direction for anything to attack them, they were only slightly safer, but Connor was doing his best with what he had. 

“Android,” he said. 

There was a shifting of something large in the pipes around them, causing metal to creak and groan. 

Connor swallowed. “I _think_.” 

The hiss of hydraulic joints made Connor and Markus spin as one. Connor’s reactions were more finely tuned, so it was he who hit the ground first, dragging Markus down with him. 

The android limb crashed into the wall they had been pressed against, sending a spider web of cracks branching out. The cracked metal of the skeleton looked older than anything Connor had ever seen. The fingers were too long and crooked too, but the hand only stayed in the beams of light for a few seconds before snapping back into the dark. 

“What the hell?” Markus said. He pushed himself up, grabbing his flashlight and following the arm. 

“Hey, wait!” Connor said. “This thing is obviously dangerous. We should stick together.” 

“I don’t recognize the model,” Markus said. 

Connor was sure he could hear the thing creeping through the shadows around them, but every time he turned with his flashlight, there was nothing there. He reached Markus’s side and stayed there, more nervous than anything. He didn’t like facing an enemy that he knew nothing about. 

“Androids have always been made in the human form,” Markus said as they walked. “At least, the ones that are in the workforce are. It helps with integration and humans accepting us.” 

“What are you saying?” Connor said. 

They had reached a section of pipe that broke off suddenly, opening up into a wide room with a floor covered in water. Connor couldn’t guess its depth at a glance, and he instinctively put his arm across Markus’s chest to keep him from walking into open space. The beams of their flashlights didn’t even reach across, and as Connor looked up, he realized that the ceiling was just as empty and dark. 

“Have the sewers always been like this?” he asked. 

Markus shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure,” he said, trying to push past Connor’s arm. “I think the android is in there.” 

“That’s a bad thing,” Connor said, easily holding him back. “That thing is dangerous. It didn’t even look human.” 

“That’s the whole point,” Markus said. “Androids are _supposed_ to look human. Why doesn’t that one?” 

Connor snapped his mouth shut as there was the scrape of metal on metal. Like something creeping towards them. Hunting them. Connor knew that feelings. He had never felt like the thing being hunted, and now it was setting all his sensors buzzing. He didn’t like it. 

A tapping started, clicking like too many limbs, and Connor and Markus swung their flashlights wild, trying to catch the thing by chance. The shadows were too thick though, and the room before them was too large. 

The tapping stopped. 

The only giveaway were the ripples in the water. 

“There,” Connor said, swinging his flashlight down just in time to catch something horribly _not human_ crawling out of the water. 

The face was too long, the jaw dropped down and unhinged, like it had been broken long ago. The thing had no skin or hair, just dead gray plastic as if it didn’t care what it looked like anymore. Its neck was too long too, leading to a torso that was too square and blocky. Three different arms branched off of that but the body was spotted with half-finished limbs and hands and fingers as if the thing couldn’t decide what it was doing. Two legs let it move, thankfully, but those were impossibly long with too many joints to count. 

Its wild, out of focus eyes snapped to Connor’s flashlight, focusing on that stimuli above everything else. The broken jaw gave it some sort of smile, and it tapped with its long, long fingers. 

“Welcome! Welcome!” 

The recorded voice came from some sort of voice box in the thing’s neck even though its mouth didn’t move. 

“I can take your order whenever you are ready!” 

“What the hell?” Connor said. 

Markus nudged him, pointing his own flashlight at the scraps of cloth hanging off the androids body. The logo of a fast food business were just barely visible. “Look,” he said. “Just what I thought.” 

“What are you talking about?” Connor said. 

The thing was tapping out a rhythm on its own body now, as if trying to pass the time with the simple action. The sound echoed into the rest of the chamber. 

“Not every android is programmed to be fully sentient,” Markus said. “Fast food and retail workers especially. Any android that just needs to do a repetitive job over and over. They don’t need much personality underneath all their programming.” 

The thing cocked its head at them, eyes going in different directions. 

“Welcome!” it said again. “Can I take your order?” 

Markus grimaced. “As you can see, this is the result.” 

“So what is it doing here?” Connor said. 

“Deviancy doesn’t go well for these androids,” Markus said. “Without their programming, they don’t have much of a purpose and become little more than animals. At the beginning of the revolution, they were the first ones killed by humans usually.” 

“Well, that thing clearly isn’t dead,” Connor said.

The thing smiled as best it could with its broken jaw. 

“What are we supposed to do about it?” 

“If it wasn’t hurting people, I would just say let it be,” Markus said.

The reports included multiple androids dismembered and in the medical wing of Jericho. Markus had agonized over the damage, struggling to find enough parts to repair the poor androids. Even then, more than a few were left using crutches and wheelchairs. Some had optic sensors ripped out. Others were left deaf. One even had its voice box ripped out. 

“Well,” Connor said, pulling out the gun he had insisted on bringing. “If we can’t reason with it.” 

The android tapped faster at the sight of the weapon, eyes spinning in its sockets. “We are sold out of number nine,” it said. It rotated its entire torso completely around and then crouched on the rock it was sitting on. “I am so sorry. We are sold out of number nine.” 

“Connor, I don’t think that is the answer,” Markus said. He was just as nervous as the android at the sight of the weapon. If conflict could be avoided, that was his path of choice. 

He wasn’t able to finish his thought as the android suddenly dove forward into the water, disappearing into a huge wave and splash. Connor cursed and fired several shots into the water. The android thrashed for a moment, causing the water to lap at their feet and waves to slosh in every direction. A moment later, though, the water was settling and there was no sign of it. 

Markus clutched to Connor’s arm. “Did you get it? Where did it go?” 

Connor shook his head. “I had less than a fifty percent chance of hitting it,” he said. “And I doubt that I actually did.” 

Markus sucked in a sharp breath. “Then where did it go?” 

That question was answered a moment later as the thing surged up out of the water with an ungodly shriek of feedback. Markus reeled back, but Connor wasn’t as lucky. The android was targeting him anyway, and with all three of its fully formed arms, it latched onto him. 

He wasn’t able to point the gun and he didn’t even get a chance to struggle before the thing pried at his shoulder joint, tested the strength, and then ripped his arm completely off without even a second of hesitation. 

Connor’s vision went white for a moment as all his systems came online to deal with the damage. 

He shut off his pain receptors a moment later. 

The android was strangely silent as it dropped him—like it had gotten what it wanted and that was it. It began prying at its own chest before it slammed the arm into one of the cracks. It jammed at it, trying again and again like a child trying to fit a square into a circle hole. 

Connor took the chance to scramble away, losing his flashlight in the process. He kept a hold on his gun, and that was all that mattered. He pushed himself back far enough until Markus grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. Thirium was streaming down his side, soaking quickly into his shirt and pants, and it covered them both easily. 

The plastic on the android’s chest eventually latched onto Connor’s arm, stitching the two together. The android finally stopped its fidgeting and froze a moment. Connor’s arm then started moving, flexing the joints and fingers experimentally as the thing learned how to move its brand new limb. 

“Fuck,” Markus said, and he took the words right out of Connor’s mouth. 

The android turned back to them then. The way it was eyeing the rest of their limbs was unnerving enough. “Can I get you anything else?” it asked. 

Connor used his good arm to raise the gun and he fired three shots into the thing’s chest. Its organs must not be where a normal android’s were because it took the hits like they were nothing. Markus was pulling Connor back. 

“We need to get out of here,” he said. 

Connor didn’t argue. 

They turned and ran down the pipes. Connor tried to flip the map that he had made in his mind that he had made on their way inside, but he hadn’t been counting the last few turns and now most of his systems were working to heal over the joint of his missing arm. 

Markus was in the lead anyway, taking turns at random, casting his flashlight’s beam over the different pipes and making split second decisions. 

The android was scrambling behind them, tapping and clicking as it gave chase. It was silent in its hunt, which made it all the more terrifying. The only noise or warning it gave was the tap of its many fingers over the metal and pipe and the occasional hiss of its hydraulic joints.

Connor knew they were lost when they stumbled into a second cavern that was twice as big as the first one, although it was thankfully drier. Markus swept his flashlight around, illuminating the dozens of different pipes that branched off of it in every possible direction. 

“I think we’re really lost,” Markus said. 

Movement on the far side of the cavern made Connor stiffen, and he watched in horror as another android just as twisted and elongated as the one that was chasing them unfolded itself and raised its head as it noticed them. 

Now they were really in trouble too. 

The first android burst into the chamber, and Connor and Markus scrambled towards the center, keeping equal amounts of distance between themselves and both androids. They pressed themselves back-to-back, the best way to keep track of both of the threats. 

“Do you have any ideas?” Markus asked. 

Connor kept his gun drifting between both androids, ready to fire at whichever one moved first. “Not really,” he said. “I have limited ammunition.” 

The second android pulled itself up, and Connor swallowed hard when he noticed the segmented joints, very similar to an insect, interspersed with pairs of arms. It slithered down the pile of garbage it had been coiled on top of, dragging itself along with a dozen pairs of hands. It must’ve lost its legs at some point, because that was the only way it moved.

The plastic of its skeleton was a lot more damaged than the other android’s, streaked with black and brown and cracked completely open in some places. Its jaw wasn’t broken, but it was still smiling. At some point, it had gotten more than one LED, and all three of them on scattered across its face spun a mix of red and yellow. 

Connor aimed the gun at its head, hoping that a well-placed shot would at least slow it down. 

He didn’t fire, though, when he realized that the thing was looking past him and Markus at the first android. 

“How can I help you today?” it asked. Its recorded voice was so similar to the first ones, that Connor wasn’t sure which one had spoken for a moment. 

The first android immediately lost all interest in Markus and Connor, turning to this new opponent with all its arms extended. The fingers across its body were tapping nervously again. 

The second android positioned itself between Connor and Markus and the first android. “How can I help you today?” it asked again. 

The first android paced back and forth. Like it was weighing the odds of attacking verses retreating. 

Connor and Markus weren’t about to let their guards down just yet. Connor kept the gun up, and Markus kept the flashlight on both of them. 

Without warning, the second android lunged, moving far faster than the first as it skittered across the stone. It unhinged its jaw and latched onto the other’s neck, dragging it completely off the ground as it raised itself up to used three pairs of arms to grapple it. 

There was a brief, noiseless struggle that ended in a crunch of metal as the second android succeeded in ripping the first completely in half. With a fevered energy, it began tearing all the pieces into smaller parts, picking through the different limbs and organs and shoving whatever it wanted against its own body as the remains of the other android twitched and slowly lost all life.

Connor and Markus were frozen in place, watching the android pick through its kill and select its winnings. It added the android’s LED to its face, finally completing the symmetry of an LED on each temple and an LED on each cheek as well. They all spun green with satisfaction. 

Once it was done, the android turned to Connor and Markus, crouching protectively over the corpse until it seemed to realize that they weren’t going to move. 

“Hello?” it asked. “Madam? Sir?” 

“I don’t think,” Markus whispered. “I don’t think this one will hurt us.” 

“It has my arm attached to its body,” Connor said through gritted teeth. 

“Sir?” the android tried again. “Sirs?” It seemed satisfied with that and crawled forward a few feet, lowering itself down so it was more at their height. “Can I help you get anything?” it asked. 

“We’re lost,” Markus said, loud enough that the android could hear. 

Connor elbowed his side. “Don’t tell it that!” 

“We need help getting out,” Markus said, ignoring his warnings. 

The thing cocked its head. “Is it closing time?” 

“We need to get _out_ ,” Markus said, trying to emphasize the words carefully. “We need to get back to the _surface_. We are _lost_.” 

The thing bobbed its head. “It is closing time,” it said. “It _is_ closing time.”

Connor kept his gun trained on it. 

It circled the chamber, looking at each pipe and then moving onto the next. It got all the way around the chamber and then settled back on top of the carcass. It looked at Connor and Markus and didn’t say anything. 

“Great,” Connor said. “That was so helpful.” 

“Easy,” Markus said. “Maybe it’s lonely.” 

Connor snorted at that suggestion, but Markus stepped forward, closing the difference between himself and the android. 

“I bet you’ve been lonely down here,” he said. “Having to protect yourself from all the other androids. We don’t want to hurt you. I promise. Do you have a name?”

“Sir?” the android asked. 

“A name?” Markus repeated. “Do you have a _name_?” 

The android smiled at him. “Welcome to Old Navy!” it said. 

Markus shook his head. “No, a name. Do you have a name?” 

“Welcome to Old Navy!” the android repeated.

“Old Navy?” Markus repeated. 

“Welcome!” the android said with a bob of its head. “How can I help you?” 

“Markus, you are talking to a _recording_ ,” Connor said. 

Markus shook his head. “No, I think we’re communicating. I think he can understand us.” 

“No thank you, sir,” Old Navy said. It circled the carcass and looked pointedly at Markus. “No thank you, sir,” it said a bit more forcefully. 

“Not sir?” Markus said. He had stepped a get closer, almost within arm’s reach of the thing. If it wanted to, it could grab him and tear him apart in a moment. “You mean, you’re not a he?” 

Old Navy smiled. “Welcome to Old Navy!” 

“She, then,” Markus suggested. 

Old Navy stopped smiling. “No thank you, ma’am.” 

“They?” Markus tried. 

“Welcome to Old Navy,” Old Navy said, back to smiling. 

Markus looked back at Connor with his own smile splitting his face. “See?” he said triumphantly. “They do understand us.” He turned back to Old Navy. “We are lost, and he is hurt. Can you get us back to the surface? We promise we won’t bother you again.” 

Old Navy looked passed Markus at Connor and then pulled themself forward. 

Connor recoiled, pointing the gun at it. 

Old Navy froze at that movement, looking at him with a sort of unease. Not quite angry, not yet, but definitely nervous. Markus was just as nervous. 

“Connor,” he said. “The gun.” 

Connor hesitated a moment longer and then lowered the weapon. He had lost too much thirium and most of his fight along with it. He slumped down, and Markus was at his side in a moment, supporting him so he didn’t collapse completely. Old Navy watched them for a moment with their head cocked to the side. 

“Well?” Connor asked. “Are you going to lead us out of here?” 

Old Navy just studied him for a moment longer and then reached back to their own body. They ripped his arm off their body and then presented it to Connor like it was some sort of trophy. It was disgusting, but he accepted it. His skeleton didn’t seem to heal over like Old Navy’s or the other equally disturbing android’s did. So he was left carrying it awkwardly. 

Old Navy didn’t seem to notice his dilemma. 

They turned and scuttled across the pipes, pausing at the entrance of a few before stopping in front of one and looking back at Connor and Markus. Like they wanted them to follow. 

“Come on,” Markus said, grabbing Connor’s hand. 

Together, they walked across the room. As soon as they started walking, Old Navy scuttled off into the tube, like a centipede but a hundred times too big and a hundred times too human. Connor wanted nothing to do with the android, but Markus obviously trusted the thing and who was he to say no to Markus. 

The walk was long. 

Every time water dripped or stones knocked against one another or metal scraped against metal, Connor stiffened and brought his gun up. And every time, Markus had to put a hand on his arm to calm him down and make sure that Old Navy didn't leave them behind accidentally. Connor was nervous, and he knew that Markus was too but didn't show it. 

He wasn't sure how long they had walked before another android dragged itself out of a cracked pipe, hissing and grabbing at Old Navy. 

Old Navy barely flinched, just drew itself up so that they towered over the other android. 

The twisted thing looked more dead than alive and certainly didn't have the cognitive function to realize when it was outmatched. It challenged Old Navy like a kitten challenging a full-grown Doberman. At some point it had lost its legs and didn't replace them and it had to drag itself along on its stomach. A few hands were haphazardly attached to its body as a sign that it had, at one point, successfully guarded its territory before it had become what they were seeing now. 

A whole mess of wires and cables dragged behind it, falling out of its lower back where the plastic of its skeleton had been broken away. One of its eyes had been gouged out as well, creating a crack in the side of its face that exposed the sparking wires underneath. 

Old Navy didn’t make a sound as the thing hissed and growled and snapped at them. They circled carefully, waited until there was an opening, and then struck like a snake. 

The android got one bite in, latching its mouth around one of Old Navy’s legs. From there, it was barely a fight. With one heave, Old Navy flipped the android belly-up, slamming it down on the ground to stun it. They tore through the android’s stomach next, aiming straight for the thirium pump and ripping it out triumphantly. The android’s jaw locked around their leg in a death grip as it powered down. 

Markus and Connor had to wait a moment, averting their eyes as Old Navy tore through the body, taking what they wanted and adding it to their own body. 

They didn’t even acknowledge the death, just shaking the head off their leg and then continuing down the pipe. 

“Well, this is nice,” Connor muttered. 

Markus elbowed him in the ribs. 

Old Navy didn’t respond, if they had heard him. 

It was several more minutes of trudging through mucky water until Old Navy stopped underneath a beam of light coming down from grate above them. 

“Thank you for dining with us,” they said, giving them a smile that was too big for their face. 

“Okay,” Connor said, looking up at the pieces of sky colored with the sunset that could be seen through the metal. “So how are we supposed to get up there?” 

“Old Navy can pick us up,” Markus said. 

Connor clamped onto his hand to stop him from stepping forward. “You are not touching that thing,” he said. “It ripped my arm off!” 

“They gave it back to you,” Markus said. “And Old Navy didn’t rip off your arm. That was the first android.” 

“We didn’t watch them destroy two androids to get here and then just let them pick us up like they aren’t going to do the same thing to us,” Connor said, still holding him back. “I don’t trust them.” 

“They got us this far,” Markus argued. “Come on, Connor, we are so _close_.”

With a scrape of metal behind them, Old Navy pulled themself all the way up and dislodged the grate cover. They shut their eyes against the sunlight that now openly streaming in, clicking in irritation as they fell down and retreated into the shadows. They looked expectantly at Markus and Connor, waiting for them to make a decision. 

“We can get up by ourselves,” Connor said. “The walls will be easy to climb, and once I’m up, I can get you a rope or ladder.” 

“Old Navy will be fine,” Markus said. “Your way will take too long. We can both be out of here in seconds. And besides, you need thirium. Who knows if you’ll even be able to go that far once you make it out?” 

“I’ll be fine,” Connor insisted. 

“You can’t guarantee that,” Markus argued. 

“I can see our chance of success in my mind, right now.” 

“And is it less than fifty percent?” 

“No, it’s actually seventy-three.” 

“And there’s a one hundred percent chance of success with Old Navy—” 

“Not if they rip our heads off!” 

The multiple hands that wrapped around Connor made his hair stand on end with how wrong it was. Two clamped down on his wrists, stopping him from turning the gun on Old Navy, while even more supported him under his armpits and legs. Old Navy lifted him up with easy, pulling him through the air and then shoving him through the opening.

Connor spilled out onto the street, rolling over and blinking in confusion at the sudden, bright light. He pushed himself up as fast as he could, fumbling with the gun and his arm and eventually abandoning his arm in favor of pulling himself back towards the hole. 

If he was quick enough, he could fire enough shots directly into Old Navy’s head before they could do anything to hurt Markus. He got to the edge of the hole and adjusted his eyesight, bracing his arm against one knee as he aimed into the dark. 

He didn’t get a chance to fire. 

Markus was lifted out of the hole seconds later, gently deposited on the street, and he even waved as the half a dozen hands that lifted him retreated back into the darkness. 

“See?” he said smugly. “I told you that would work.” 

A moment later the hands replaced the grate, twisting it firmly back into place, and Markus and Connor listened to the clatter of metal on metal as Old Navy scuttled away. 

Connor slumped back, finally taking a moment to relax. Markus had been right about earlier. He did need thirium. His systems were chugging away, and he had to pant to get rid of the excess heat. He didn’t want to be the wrong one though, so he would never admit that. 

“Well,” he said, changing the topic before Markus could point out how right he was. “Now we know what’s down in the sewers. Those things are obviously the ones killing all the androids.” 

“Those _things_ are just androids themselves,” Markus said, pushing himself to his feet. He offered Connor a hand that Connor accepted. “It’s not their fault that the humans gave them incomplete code.” 

“So you aren’t going to do anything about them?” Connor asked. 

Markus made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat as he bent down to collect Connor’s arm. “I didn’t say that,” he said. “Come on, we need to get you some help. There’s an unopened box of RK series parts still in the basement.” 

“But you need to focus on the problem,” Connor said. “The androids.” 

“The androids aren’t the problem,” Markus said. “I’m sure we have extra parts and thirium that we can leave for them to use, I’m sure. That will cut down on attacks. We’ll just warn everyone about avoiding the sewers and open pipes, and we can keep telling stories about androids with too many arms and a dozen LED lights. That’ll keep everyone away.” 

“I highly doubt that,” Connor said, but he was running out of energy to argue. 

“We fought to free every android,” Markus reminded him. “And I want to include every android.” 

“Sometimes your empathy is your worst characteristic,” Connor said. 

Markus just laughed. “Blame the humans that programmed me.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey look, I'm on tumblr @manuscript-or


End file.
